1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc playback apparatus for playing back audio information and still image information recorded on a disc-type recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, disc-type recording media in which audio information required to play back audio and still image information required to play back still images are recorded, and disc playback apparatuses for playing back such disc-type recording media have been known.
For example, in the DVD-audio standard which has recently attracted attention, DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs) are used as disc-type recording media, so that audio with high sound quality exceeding that of existing CDs (Compact Discs) can be recorded, or a large number (for example, several thousands) of still images to be played back together with audio can be recorded. By playing back such disc-type recording media with a disc playback apparatus, for example, while music is being played back, a still image for the artist who plays that music and a still image created to match the image of the music can be displayed.
In the above-described disc-type recording media, it is not always necessary to record still image information in such a manner as to correspond to the entire audio information region. There are cases in which corresponding still image information is provided in some of the audio information regions, but corresponding still image information is not provided in the other regions. For this reason, when audio information of a region having no associated still image information is played back, a still image is not displayed on the screen, and the image display function provided in the disc playback apparatus cannot be utilized effectively.
Furthermore, in a case where the content of the still image information which is associated with audio information in advance does not match the preference of the user, it is not possible for the user to freely set and display a desired still image. For this reason, when a still image does not match the user's preference, the user views the still image display less frequently, and it cannot be said that the image display function provided in the disc playback apparatus is utilized effectively.